Sometimes the location of the leak is obvious but a.
Fix hot water tank leak.
If you have a plastic drain valve your best bet is to replace the entire valve.
The fix leak from the base.
If the tank has ruptured and is leaking the water heater cannot be fixed and it must be replaced.
If after flushing it is still leaking you should replace the valve.
Normally this will be a major flooding leak not small dripping.
Leaks from electric water heater s heating element gasket.
If the tank is leaking there is an internal problem and likely one of the components has sprung a leak causing water to leak out and pool slowly.
This unique repair method is specific to a cracked outlet on a water tank.
If the leak is orginating from the base of the t p valve you should first open the valve and allow it to flush away any debris be careful the water will be hot.
If the leak is here good news the repair is simple and relatively inexpensive.
A leak does not always doom a hot water tank.
See the article electric water heater repair and troubleshooting for information on removing the heating element and replacing the gasket.
Depending on where the leak occurs you may be able to fix the problem before scrapping the tank.
You ll have to drain the tank for that fix too.
You just need a plumber to replace the faulty drain valve.
If age and deterioration is the cause of your leak you will need to call a professional plumber to replace your water.
Most leaks come from the hot water tank itself.
As discussed above when sediment builds up in the bottom of a water tank for years and years it will eventually corrode through the bottom of the tank and begin to leak.
However if the leak is coming from the tank you ll need to replace the water heater.
And if your water heater is more.
The water heater s tank.
Repairing a water heater leaking from the drain valve is a fairly easy but time consuming fix because you have to shut off the water and drain the tank.
The drain valve looks like this.
Finally if none of the prior inspections showed a cause for leaking then it is likely that the tank inside the water heater has gone bad.
With electric water heaters leaks can spring from the gaskets that seal the heating elements to the tank turn off the electrical power and shut off the tank s water supply.
Water heaters can leak due to a number of problems including loose valves excessive pressure in the tank or issues with the pipes that connect to the unit.